Shotlist

"All aspects of the EU’s domestic market, and the benefits shared by all EU members, will no longer be available for Britain if it votes to leave. All forms of negotiations conducted by the EU, which is on behalf of all its 28 members will become the negotiations between the 27 members and a third party. I can hardly imagine what benefit would come out of this.”

Berlin, Germany - June 22, 2016

3. Various of German, EU flags

4. SOUNDBITE (German) Tanja Boerzel, professor, school of politics, Free University of Berlin:

"Britain’s referendum can’t be taken out of the context of what is happening in Europe, or even in the whole world. It is in relation to the fear of globalization. People worry about declining social status, living standards and cultural identification. However, these are the challenges that can’t be avoided in globalization, and the integration of Europe has been widely regarded as part of globalization."

London, UK - June 15, 2016

5. Various of Brexit supporters campaigning on the Thames

Berlin, Germany - June 22, 2016

6. SOUNDBITE (German) Tanja Boerzel, professor, school of politics, Free University of Berlin:

"Southern European countries led by France stress on government’s interference to market, while German and Britain pursue free market. If Britain leaves the EU, Germany will lose an important partner in terms of economic perspectives and policies on national budget and expenditure. Compared with France, Germany shares more consensuses with Britain when it comes to economic policies."

London, UK - June 15, 2016

7. Various of Brexit supporters campaigning on the Thames

Berlin, Germany - June 22, 2016

8. SOUNDBITE (German) Tanja Boerzel, professor, school of politics, Free University of Berlin:

"The current problem is that how can the British government convince its people that it is a wise decision to stay inside the domestic market by accessing into the EEA after Brexit. However, that means Britain must join the Schengen area and must follow a lot more rules than the existing ones in domestic market, in other words, the excuses and reasons Britain has used to back up Brexit will eventually lead to heavier burden for Britain in the future."

London, UK - June 15, 2016

9. Various of people demonstrating over bridge

Storyline

Germany hopes Britain can remain in the European Union (EU), as the country’s head of state and many political analysts have called.

During a joint press conference after the talks with Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico a week ago in Berlin, the German Chancellor Angela Merkel said: “All aspects of the EU’s domestic market, and the benefits shared by all EU members, will no longer be available for Britain if it votes to leave. All forms of negotiations conducted by the EU, which is on behalf of all its 28 members will become the negotiations between the 27 members and a third party. I can hardly imagine what benefit would come out of this.”

Describing Britain as “a powerful partner and ally” to Germany in the EU, Tanja Boerzel, a professor with the school of politics of the Free University of Berlin, said that possible Brexit will disintegrate the EU, a scenario Germany does not want to witness, especially at a time when the EU is struggling with economic and political challenges.

"Britain’s referendum can’t be taken out of the context of what is happening in Europe, or even in the whole world. It is in relation to the fear of globalization. People worry about declining social status, living standards and cultural identification. However, these are the challenges that can’t be avoided in globalization, and the integration of Europe has been widely regarded as part of globalization," said Boerzel.

If Britain leaves the bloc, Germany will become the biggest victim of it, according to Boerzel.

"Southern European countries led by France stress on government’s interference to market, while German and Britain pursue free market. If Britain leaves the EU, Germany will lose an important partner in terms of economic perspectives and policies on national budget and expenditure. Compared with France, Germany shares more consensuses with Britain when it comes to economic policies," she said.

Some experts predicted that the UK would continue its membership in the European Economic Area (EEA) to continue its free trading with other EU members if it leaves the bloc. Boerzel, however, said the move is actually not the best option for the UK.

"The current problem is that how can the British government convince its people that it is a wise decision to stay inside the domestic market by accessing into the EEA after Brexit. However, that means Britain must join the Schengen area and must follow a lot more rules than the existing ones in domestic market, in other words, the excuses and reasons Britain has used to back up Brexit will eventually lead to heavier burden for Britain in the future," said Boerzel.

A public opinion poll conducted in Germany has shown that 58 percent of the German citizens who took part in the poll voted against Brexit, while only seven percent of the participants voted in favor.